Heat shield for missile flare



Aug. 19, 1969 R. L yzgs 3 HEAT SHIELD Fonmssnm; FLARE Filed Feb. 12,1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEYS Aug. 9, 1969 R. L AYERS 3,461,802

HEAT SHIELD FOR MISSILE FLARE Filed Feb. 12, 1958 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 2United States Patent 3,461,802 HEAT SHIELD FOR MISSILE FLARE Raymond I.Ayers, Camarillo, Qalifl, assignor to the United States of America asrepresented by the Secretary of the Navy Filed Feb. 12, 1968, Ser. No.704,746 Int. 'Cl. F42b 15/00, 13/40; E04c 2/02 US. Cl. 102-87 5 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISQLOSURE A heat shield having fastening means formounting the shield adjacent the discharge nozzle of an airbornemissile, saidt. shield having a portion thereof coated with a heatresistant material. The shield protects a tracking flare locatedadjacent the missile nozzle from the hot gases of the missile motorblast emitting from the nozzle and prevents premature consumption andfailure of the flare.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or forthe Government of the United States of America for governmental purposeswithout the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This inventionrelates generally to heat protective shields and more particularly toheat protective shields readily attached at an area adjacent a missileexhaust nozzle and adapted to prevent an instrument or a flare mountednear such area from being adversely affected by the excessive heatgenerated in such area.

Description of the prior art In the operation of the various guidedmissiles, one method for determining the missile flight is by attachinga tracking flare to the missile thereby permitting a clear observance ofsaid missile over a considerable period of time and to a maximumdistance. However, in some missiles it is desirable to recess aninstrument or a flare such as a tracking flare near the missile exhaustand in fact to notch the periphery of the exhaust nozzle in order tolocate the flare or the like closer to the longitudinal axis of thenozzle. Unfortunately, such notching permits the hot exhaust gases fromthe missile to impinge upon the after portion of the attached device.

SUMMARY The foregoing as well as other attendant disadvantages have beenovercome in the present invention by employing a heat protective shieldhaving fastening means for mounting the shield on the flare adjacent thenotched area of the propulsion nozzle, said device having a portionthereof coated with a heat resistant material. The present deviceshields a tracking flare or other device so located from the hot exhaustgases emitting from the nozzle and prevents premature consumption andfailure of said flare. Accordingly an object of this invention is toprovide a flare heat shield mounted on a missile in which a portion ofthe shield is coated with a heat resistant material,

Another object of the invention is to provide a flare heat shield simplein design, easily installed in the field by relatively inexperiencedpersonnel and requiring no modification of the missile on which it isattached.

A further object of this invention is to provide a light and inexpensiveflare heat shield which is uniformly effective in operation.

Other objects, advantages, and novel features of the invention willbecome apparent from the following de- 3,461,802 Patented Aug. 19, 1969tailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a shieldconstructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the opposite side of the device of FIG. 1with the related flare and missile parts depicted in phantom.

FIGURE 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along a linesubstantially corresponding to line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIGURE 4 is a rear end elevational view taken from a positionsubstantially corresponding to line 4-4 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 5 is a front elevational view taken along a line substantiallycorresponding to line 5--5 of FIG- URE 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the embodimentshown, there is indicated a shield 10 shaped from a suitable materialwhich may be substantially .020 inch thick and preferably is ofstainless steel but other suitable heat resistant materials wellknown inthe art will suflice. The shield 10 has oppositely and angularlydirected pairs of tabs 12, 14 and 16, 18 connected by an archedintermediate web 20. The tabs 16 and 18 are slotted at 22 and 24 withthe slots being reinforced by the addition of the notched discs 26 (FIG.2) positioned on the interior surface thereof. The arched web 20 isprovided on the outside with a suitable bonding agent, such as anickel-chrome or molybdenum composition, over which is applied a coatingof zirconium oxide 28 (FIG. 4). The combined thickness of binder andzirconium oxide may vary between the range of .025 to .030 inch.

The installation of the shield 10 on the missile is easily accomplishedby positioning the angled rear tabs 12 and 14 so as to overlap the innerface of the nozzle wall. The front tabs 16 and 18 are placed in positionby sliding the slots 22 and 24 thereof under the holding bracketregularly employed to support the flare. The standard butterfly nuts arethen merely retightened to hold the shield 10 in place.

The present invention does not require any re-design or reworking of thepropulsion nozzle. It is inexpensive, lightweight and trouble free ininstallation, requiring no special tools and less than three minutestime expenditure.

What is claimed is:

1. A flare heat resistant shield for installation on a missile andadapted to prevent heat from missile propulsion system from acceleratingflare combustion comprising:

an arched protective member adapted for mounting on said missileadjacent said missile nozzle; and

an ablative compound coated on the exterior surface of said protectivemember and designed to enhance the heat resistance thereof,

the exterior surface of said protective member with the ablativecompound thereon being positioned nearest the missile nozzle;

thereby preventing excessive exposure of said flare to the missile motorblast.

2. The heat shield of claim 1 wherein said arched protective member hasoppositely directed pairs of tabs in order to provide improved mountingstructures for positioning said shield on said missile.

3. A flare heat resistant shield for installation on a missile andadapted to prevent heat from the missile propulsion system fromaccelerating flare combustion comprising:

3,461,802 3 4 an arched protective member adapted for mounting onReferences Cited said missile adjacent said missile nozzle; and anablative compound coated on the exterior surface of UNITED STATESPATENTS said protective member and designed to enhance the 2 4 4 01/1950 Anderson 244 324 X heat resistance thereof, said ablativecompound being 5 2,829,596 4/1958 Loedding 102 87 zirconlum oxide andpresent in a coatm'g thickness of 2 926 606 3/1960 Banos et a1 1O2 87between .025 and .030 inch and the said protective 2986999 6/1961Fiedcler 6t 102 87 member being formed from material substantially3182469 5/1965 Kirchner H X th about 9 3,243,313 3/1966 Aves erebypreventing excesslve exposure of said flare to 10 3 300 139 1/1967 F81dman 102 105 the missile motor blast 4. The heat shield of claim 3wherein said material from which the said protective member is formed isstainless steel.

5. The heat shield of claim 3 wherein a bonding agent 15 X- is providedon the exterior surface of the protective mem- 102-105 ber prior toapplication of said zirconium oxide.

VERLIN R. PENDEGRASS, Primary Examiner

